dried squirrel brains

Sounds like the name of an alternative rock band, hey.

Actually, this is what happens when you've got two little boy-beans and one Papatouille who thinks he's Calvin's dad--everything gets renamed. These just happen to be sweet-savoury oven-roasted pecans, inspired by some Sahale Valdosta pecans (with cranberries, black pepper, and orange zest) I bought to put on a spinach strawberry salad. We all loved them so I decided to buy my own bag of pecans and do something about it.

I just made it up as I went along and the little beanies helped as well. They shook in some spices and stirred them up really diligently, knowing the prize awaiting them at the end.

You'll need:

• 10-oz. bag pecans
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• one cinnamon stick
• microplane grater
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• some shakes of cumin, ginger, coriander, madras curry powder
• 1/8 c. brown sugar, not packed tightly

Do this:

Preheat your oven to 350 F/180 C. Grab a baking sheet and line it with foil, then pour about a teaspoon of olive oil in one hand and use it to coat a handful of pecans in your other hand, rubbing it all together with both hands, and repeating until all your pecans are well slicked and ready for some roasting action. Put them on the pan in a single layer and then grate your cinnamon stick into a separate bowl, adding the other spices and sugar and mixing it all up well. Toss this over your pecans and stir it with your hands, making sure that the pecans are well coated and then lying in a single layer again. Bake for 4 to 4.5 minutes, take it out and stir, then bake for the same amount of time again.

Try to let them cool before popping one after another into your waiting gob!

taking the guest-work out of pbj bread pudding

Guest posted today over at Tribeca Yummy Mummy--here's a little photo preview:


And don't forget to check out the rhubarb crumble ice cream I made a few days ago! Summer is upon us (finally)...

rhubarb crumble ice cream!!!

Almost every time we've visited the UK, my mother-in-law makes this Delia Smith recipe and it knocks our socks off with every tart-sweet creamy luscious bite. A hint of ginger in the crumble adds a surprising subtle kick.

We were having friends over for dinner on Monday evening and so I spent quite a chunk of Sunday afternoon making this BUT IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!

You don't even have to have an ice cream maker, thank goodness. (I had some leftover rhubarb so I had the idea to bake it as you would for this recipe but then just use it as a topping on storebought vanilla ice cream or blend it in with a hand mixer.)

I did add some vanilla to the rhubarb part and a pinch of salt to the crumble, but other than that, left well enough alone.

Oh man. This is GOOD STUFF. (I don't usually write in a lot of caps but sometimes you just need to. This ice cream just MAKES me use caps. I can't help it.)

choco pb ice cream cake

When our soon-to-turn-two-year-old asked for "chocolate milk cake" for his upcoming birthday, a friend suggested an ice cream cake.

It was meant to be.

I went a step further in my imagination, adding peanut butter to the mix, and then just did a quick online search for chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake. After finding this one from Eggs on Sunday, I knew I had to go for it, so I did!

Starting with a dark chocolate cookie/butter base, Breyer's chocolate ice cream blended with chopped peanut butter cups for a middle, smothered in a 60% cacao chips and heavy cream ganache, and then topped with more chopped peanut butter cups, this cake is really a once-a-year treat. But hey, if it's birthday time, indulge!

(Helpful hint: Slice the cake when it's fresh out of the freezer--if you wait too long, the middle gets squishy and the ganache stays firm, which make for a messy piece of cake.)

And our third child enjoyed it, too...

greening my kitchen...and my tummy

I know you're thinking I should just give up the "food" blog and start one just for green smoothies, but what the hey, I'm all for integration...

I've found that for green smoothies, the best way to layer it all up is to put the mushiest, juiciest fruit at the bottom, add some juice (or water), and put the harder veggies or fruit, like carrots, near the middle. After I liquefy it all, I then add my leafy greens.

This one had honeydew melon, cilantro, celery, cucumber, carrots, apple, apple juice, blueberry-pomegranate-veggie juice, bananas, clementines, plain yogurt, frozen marion blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries, wheat germ, and spinach (spinach not shown because I hadn't blitzed it all yet).

And just to show you that I do put other substances besides green smoothies in my bod...

One of my favorite snacks of all times: ants on a log! My mom used to make these for us--just slather some all-natural peanut butter (no sugar or sweeteners) on celery sticks and then top with raisins. Mmmmm, mmmmm, good!

What was your favorite snackage as a kid?

One more question--my soon-to-be-two-year-old wants me to make him a "chocolate milk cake" for his birthday. Any ideas for me?

long time no see mamatouille

I'm sure you know how it is when you move--you're not really up to your usual prowess in the kitchen. That's how it was with me anyway when we moved here to Seattle a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still not all there (or anywhere, for that matter).

So this actually was my first real meal that I made, and it was just thrown together with what I had available (foodwise and utensil/pot-wise), but we loved it so much I've already made it a second time in two weeks.

I added three cups uncooked rice to the rice cooker, about 6 boneless chicken tenders cut into bite-sized pieces, about 2 t. curry powder, 1/2 c. raisins, 2 carrots chopped in tiny cubes, a dash or two of cinnamon, a drizzle of honey, a dab of veggie oil, about 1 t. salt, and 4 c. water and cooked it as you would any white rice. Love, love, love it. And the kiddiewinks enjoyed it, too.

Our first green smoothie after we moved here: orange-tangerine juice, apple juice, carrots, cilantro, minced ginger, spinach, pineapple, baby romaine, bananas, mikan (clementines--sorry, I can't stop using Japanese!), frozen mixed berries, plain yogurt, and honey.

And I've been making them almost every day to make up for the frozen pizzas and lasagna we've been consuming!

For healthy on-the-go snackage, I've been whipping up fresh guacamole a lot lately. We do "dip-dip" (as our toddler calls it) with raw sugar snap peas, baby carrots, sliced red peppers, and crunchy salty tortilla chips. For my guac, I just mash avocados with plain yogurt, lemon or lime juice, fresh chopped cilantro, salt, salsa, and plenty of minced garlic.

"The Fresh guy" (as our preschooler calls him) is my hero--Seattle is the only city in the world Amazon Fresh delivers to, and boy am I happy about that!

happy birthday and a green smoothie for you

In honor of my dad-in-law's birthday today, and the fact that he has started making his own green smoothies every day, here's my latest green smoothie concoction:

• purple cabbage
• radicchio
• leafy green lettuce
• spinach
• carrots
• wheat germ
• flaxseed meal
• pears
• clementines
• apple juice
• honey
• plain yogurt
• bananas
• mangoes
• pineapple
• frozen mixed berries
• grapefruit juice
• strawberry and banana V-Fusion veggie/fruit juice

Happy birthday, Dad, and a happy, healthy new green year for you!

To everyone else, yes, I'm still cooking, just gearing up for yet another move (this time across the country instead of an international one), so not posting much. More to come soon...from Seattle!

the latest greenage

Green smoothie I made this morning: a bunch of fresh cilantro, frozen peaches, two bananas, sprinkling of cinnamon, one-quarter fresh pineapple, about a cup of apple juice, a bit of toasted wheat germ, flaxseed meal, one plum, one carrot, and plenty of fresh organic baby spinach. YUM.

What a fresh-tasting, zingy concoction, and I loved the outdoorsy, springy flavor of the cilantro. Try it, Mikey, you'll like it!

cottage pie

Florida girl that I am, I never knew that shepherd's pie was actually made with lamb and cottage pie with beef--until I spent some time in the UK studying and then married a Brit whose mum is a wonderful cook.

I first had cottage pie with baked beans at my in-laws' home (in Buckinghamshire) and haven't looked back. Yum. My mother-in-law usually adds crushed potato chips (crisps) on top with dabs of butter so that it gets all brown and crunchy. Double yum.

This post is dedicated to my little sis who asked me today to post my "recipe" for cottage pie--I use the term loosely because I change it a little every time I make it.

Here's today's version for your delectation.

You'll need:

• 1 lb. organic ground beef
• 3 carrots, grated (they'll cook faster that way)
  
• one onion, diced
• 5 or 6 cloves garlic, diced finely
  
• 4 sticks celery, diced
• a blob of tomato paste
• a few splashes Worcestershire sauce
• a spoonful of ketchup
• vegetarian baked beans (about 16 oz. or so)
  
• Nature's Seasons seasoning salt
• ground black pepper
• about 6 or 7 potatoes, peeled and chopped
  
• whole milk or half and half
• butter
  
• shredded cheese
• more Nature's Seasons

Do this:

Saute the ground beef with the veggies and garlic, then add the ketchup, tomato paste (about 4 T.), Worcestershire sauce, baked beans, seasoning salt, and pepper. Let simmer a bit and in the meanwhile, boil the potatoes till tender, drain, mash, and add heated milk, butter, cheese, and seasonings.

In a casserole dish, plop the meat mixture on bottom and then spread the mashed taters over the top, adding crushed potato chips if you've got them. Bake at about 350 F/180 C for 15 minutes or so, till bubbly on bottom and a bit browned on top.

Grab a spoon and dig in! Itadakimasu!

mayan hot chocolate

Got this little gem of a recipe off the chocolate soy milk carton.

Mix one cup of chocolate soy milk (or, I presume, any kind of chocolate milk), one teaspoon cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Heat and serve with a cinnamon stick.

I made my mom and hubby taste this and we all rolled our eyes and said, "That's good!"

Honestly, I've never had such gorgeous hot chocolate. Ever.

chinese green smoothie

One of my friends in Japan, Noriko, took me to a Chinese restaurant one day for lunch--I think I was pregnant at the time and craving fruit and veggies like there's no tomorrow. The restaurant was upscale and absolutely beautiful with a dark wood, minimalist kind of decor, and the menu was unlike any Chinese food I'd ever had.

When I saw this smoothie, I had to try it--full of fresh cabbage, kiwi, grapefruit, pineapple, and ice, it's overflowing with goodness and good taste.

I tried to replicate it at home today and threw in one quarter of a cabbage, half a grapefruit, two kiwi, one quarter of a pineapple, plenty of ice, and some honey.

Delicious? Absolutely.

fasoulia khadra

The hubster and I rarely get to have dates, but on a recent one we visited a Syrian restaurant called The Shish Cafe (here in the Madison area). It was a Friday night, hopping, and we were glad we had reservations. They were short one waiter and our poor waitress was run off her feet, but the owner/chef and the waitress were very gracious in spite of that.

We started off with baba ghanouj, hummus, tabouleh (all three the best I've ever had!), and warm pita to scoop it all up. Stephen ordered the "lamb fasoulieh" (lamb and green bean stew), and I had the "lamb borek" (small savoury pies with ground lamb, toasted pine nuts, parsley, onions, and garlic). Both fabulous choices, but we both ended up oohing and ahhing the most over Stephen's stew.

I had to find out how to make it!

The fasoulia khadra recipe I found and made yesterday came very close and we do recommend it. Even if you can't get to The Shish Cafe, at least you can do this yourself at home and ooh and ahh with your family at your own dinner table. I served it with couscous (I make mine with chicken bouillon and olive oil), paprika, toasted slivered almonds, and some parsley on top like they did at the restaurant. I made the stew in the crock pot and the lamb was extremely tender.

The whole thing is so more-ish I might have to have some leftovers as a midnight snack tonight. Mmmmmmmmm...

tym's cranberry curd

I've been aching to make Tribeca Yummy Mummy's cranberry curd ever since she posted it a year ago. We didn't have access to fresh cranberries in Japan so I just had to bite my empty spoon and hold my breath until we moved to the States and got ourselves a big industrial-sized bag of the little red tart fruits from Costco.

And away I went! The only thing I didn't have on hand was orange blossom water, so I just added some grated orange peel instead.

It's great on everything, including organic flaxseed waffles.

Just make sure you don't spill half your just-made curd all over your jeans, sweater, slippers, and socks--you want as much of this stuff as possible to spill into your gob.

pigout!

My love of food is nothing new, apparently. My aunt is helping my grandparents go through their stacks of paperwork and found a notebook that my grandma wrote in on a motorhome trip in 1985 that my sister and I took with my grandparents. My grandma had written funny quotes that my sister and I made every day.

One day there was going to be a BBQ in an RV park where we were staying. My sister said she was not going to go to that "pigout"!

My answer? "I'm definitely going--it's the opportunity of a lifetime!"

Amen, sister.

simple celery soup

Live in Snow Country? Feeling a bit chilled? This soup will warm your tummy, and even if you don't particularly care for celery, will make your taste buds verrrrry happy.

Adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, this has been Mamatouille-messed-with and now I'm sure has a completely different cellular composition than what BH & G started with. Anyway, try it and see if you like it - it's a bit vague so just play as you go.

You'll need:

• celery, about 4 cups chopped
• 1 or 2 onions, chopped
  
• water, about 1.5 cups
  
• chicken stock cubes - maybe 3 or so?
  
• chopped parsley, to taste
  
• white pepper, to taste
  

For the thin white sauce:

• 3 T. butter
• 3 T. flour
• 3 cups milk

Do this:

In a stock pot, boil the celery and onions till tender in some water and chicken stock cubes. In a separate small pan, make the white sauce (I like to use a wire whisk so the flour doesn't clump) by melting the butter, adding the flour bit by bit, stirring with the wire whisk, and then gradually adding the milk and stirring till thickened a bit. This will be thin so don't worry if you can't make a sidewalk with it.

Using a hand blender (immersion blender) or regular blender, blitz the celery, onions, and cooking water till almost smooth. Pour in the white sauce and taste for seasonings, throwing in a bit of chopped parsley and some ground white pepper. You shouldn't need any extra salt because of the highly salty stock cubes, but use your own personal judgment. You're a smart cookie - you can do it.

As you can see from the photo, our kiddiewinks love this, and I'll bet yours will, too.